PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP):DAVID BECKHAM has been named England captain for today's friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago.
This will be the first time he has captained the team while playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Coach Fabio Capello, who made the announcement yesterday, has now chosen four different captains for his four games in charge.
A permanent captain will not be appointed until England's 2010 World Cup qualifiers in September against Andorra and Croatia, but Beckham is one of the candidates, Capello said.
new moment for team
"Never say never," he said. "This is a new moment for the England team."
Liverpool's Steven Gerrard led England for the 2-1 victory over Switzerland, Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand was captain for the 1-0 loss to France and Chelsea's John Terry had the armband for Wednesday's 2-0 victory over the United States at Wembley, where Beckham played the first half.
Beckham, who has already led his country 57 times, was last England captain at the 2006 World Cup where the team went out in the quarter-finals to Portugal after a penalty shoot-out.
returned to form
His international career appeared over on 94 caps when Steve McClaren, who took over after the World Cup from Sven-Goran Eriksson, dropped the star, who was then with Real Madrid. But he returned to form and helped Madrid win the Spanish league title and McClaren changed his mind.
The match at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain will be Beckham's 102nd appearance for England. All 23,000 tickets have been sold.
"Tomorrow will be very important for me because it's the last game away from home," Capello said. "I want to know if some players have the confidence away from England. This is very important."
Because England failed to qualify for the European Championship, which starts June 7 in Austria and Switzerland, Capello has had only friendlies since he took over in January.
The former AC Milan, AS Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid coach, who has won multiple titles with all four clubs, was hired after McClaren was fired for failing to get England to the Euros. The nation credited with being the birthplace of organised football has not won a title since the 1966 World Cup, its only major triumph, and that was on home turf.
